APPENDIX 7: RESOURCES FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION IN ICELAND

Suicide prevention in general

• The national action plan for suicide prevention is published by the Directorate of Health (https://www.stjornarradid.is/lisalib/getfile.aspx?itemid=77110b10-4f85-11e8-942b-005056bc530c%20)

General support

• The website sjalfsvig.is (suicides.is) is under the tutelage of the Directorate of Health. It contains information and support for persons with suicide ideations, suicide attempts and support for those bereaved after suicide, as well as links to all existing resources in Iceland.
• Heilsuvera.is is a portal providing general health care information as well as information on mental illness and suicidality for individuals in distress and family.

Telephone helplines

• The Red Cross Helpline open 24/7 and from 2014 also Red Cross online chat open 24/7 (https://www.raudikrossinn.is/verkefni/innanlandsverkefni/heilbrigdi-og-velferd/hjalparsiminn-1717-og-netspjallid/).
• Primary Health Care Information is a service providing telephone and online chat with referrals open 24/7 (https://laeknavaktin.is/)
• Pieta Association, suicide prevention helpline, telephone 24/7 (https://pieta.is/)
• Emergency telephone: 112 and Emergency Online Chat open 24/7 (https://www.112.is/)

For professionals

• Safety checklist to be used in suicide prevention in medical and treatment institutions, residential centers and nursing homes (https://island.is/en/suicide-prevention-strategies/oryggisgatlisti).
• A five-hour web-based seminar on the assessment of suicide risk has been conducted for all professional staff at all inpatient and outpatient psychiatric hospital departments. New staff receive this training as well. The same program has been conducted for professionals in General Health Care. Furthermore, medical students in their fifth year, as well as cand. psych. students receive this training.
• DPT STEPS-A is in the process of implementation. It is currently being test-run in four schools.
• Implementation procedures for the availability and use of opioid antagonists, naloxone in police and ambulance vehicles and in high-risk situations. Instructions on how to use the medications are included (https://www.facebook.com/raudikrossinn/videos/562950002668395/).
• On the Directorate of Health website, guidelines for places of work recommending responses to sudden death, including suicides (https://island.is/en/suicide-prevention-strategies). These guidelines on workplace response have been presented at a seminar at the Directorate of Health in Iceland (https://vinnustadir.heilsueflandi.is/)

Support for bereaved by suicide and affected by suicide attempt

• Sorgarmiðstöð, The Grief Center (https://sorgarmidstod.is/). The service includes lectures, published support material, peer support and support groups for the bereaved after suicide. Also, special closed support groups are conducted if a loved one has died due to addiction. The service is free.

•  The Pieta association also offers open support groups for the bereaved (https://pieta.is/). The service is free.
• The non-profit organization Örninn provides support to children who have experienced loss (https://www.arnarvaengir.is/).

National alliances for suicide prevention

•  The Center for Suicide Prevention was recently formalized at the Directorate of Health. The Center takes over current projects to follow up on the National Suicide Prevention Plan.

Research institutions for suicide prevention

• The Center for Suicide Prevention is in the process of launching a study of suicide risk factors in Iceland.

Statistics on suicide

• Statistics on suicides in Iceland, sex and age at death, are published by the Directorate of Health at six-month intervals, it is accessible online through an interactive dashboard (https://island.is/en/tolfraedi-um-sjalfsvig).
• Statistical database, Statistics Iceland (https://px.hagstofa.is/pxen/pxweb/en/)